


Bullet For A Butterfly

by EmmaB13



Category: Glee
Genre: School Shootings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-20
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27116150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmmaB13/pseuds/EmmaB13
Summary: In which the school shooting in "Shooting Star" is real
Relationships: Sam Evans/Brittany S. Pierce
Kudos: 4





	Bullet For A Butterfly

Everyone froze after the first shot was fired. Surely this wasn't happening, surely it was a false alarm. They were hearing things, or something fell, or... 

A second shot followed. There was no denying it now. Everyone ran to hide, ting to stay as quiet as they could. They looked around at each other, making sure everyone was there, making sure they were okay. Tina and Brittany were missing. Brittany had gone to the bathroom, and Tina never showed up. They didn't know if she was in the school or had left by now. 

Everyone was texting their friends and family. Blaine to Kurt: In case I don't get the chance to tell you in person, still love you and always will. And to Tina: Where are you? I'm worried sick. Please tell me you're safe, please... I can't lose you. Marley to her mother: Mom, I'm scared... Are you still here? Are you okay? Please answer me... I love you so so much. Jake to Puck: Love you, bro. I wish we met sooner. Hope to see you again. I hate to admit it but I'm terrified. 

Sam didn't think to text his parents. All he could think about was Brittany, all he cared about right now was Brittany. She must be so scared. Was she alone? Was she even in the bathroom, or had she been in the hall when the shots were fired? If she was, did she make it into a classroom? Wherever she was, was she safe? 

Brittany was looking down at her feet. She was standing on the toilet, slightly crouched down so her head didn't go over the stall door. She was trying to stop herself from crying, not wanting to make any noise. There were two other people in the bathroom, and it was a bit comforting to know she wasn't alone. Still, she was terrified. Her heart was racing, so loud she could hear it and wondered if anyone else could. She wished she was back in the choir room, with all of her friends. She needed to know she was safe. If the shooter got in there...

Blaine closed his eyes and hugged his knees tight. He didn't feel safe in the choir room. He almost wished he was alone. Everyone was making noise. Sniffling, sobbing, shuffling, whispering, typing... He wondered if it was loud enough to be heard from the hallway. Surely it was, if it was completely silent everywhere else. All he could think about was what would happen if the shooter came in. He didn't want to die, but hoped that if they were found, he'd be shot first. He was more scared of losing someone than dying. He glanced at his phone, which was on the floor next to him. Tina hadn't gotten back to him. She hadn't even opened his text. He cried harder, thinking of the worst possible scenario. 

After a few minutes, Sam got up and ran to the door, still trying to stay quiet. He was grabbed by Mr. Schuester and Coach Beiste almost immediately. "Stay down!" Mr. Schuester said. 

"No. I have to get Brittany," Sam said, trying to get out of their grip. 

"She's fine. Don't leave, you'll put yourself in danger," Coach Beiste said, holding him tighter. 

"I'll be fine, the bathroom's not that far. And she's not fine, think about how scared she is!"

"Sam, please," Blaine said. "I know you want to help Brittany, but by leaving you're not only putting yourself at risk, but everyone else in here too. If someone sees you leave, they'll know there's people in here. Stay. Please."

"Or I'll go," Mr. Schuester offered. "I can't put a student at risk, but it's my job to-" He was interrupted by two more shots. Marley started sobbing loudly. Half the group joined in and the other half shushed her. Unique hugged her close, whispering to her, trying to calm her down. Coach Beiste also went over to the kids in an effort to make them feel better. When the shot was heard, Mr. Schuester's grip on Sam loosened a bit, just enough to let him get away. Although he wanted to, Mr. Schue didn't go after Sam. He knew it was too risky, he'd be endangering the other kids by doing that. The bathroom wasn't too far away, and the gunshots sounded like they came from the opposite direction. He didn't tell the rest of the kids that Sam had left, he only whispered it to Beiste, making sure he was too quiet for anyone else to hear. 

Blaine noticed Sam leave. He felt his heart drop as soon as he left the room. He cried harder, not knowing what to do or who to go to for comfort. He tried texting him, but lost hope when he saw the notification appear on the phone beside him.

When another shot was fired, Blaine felt like he was going to be sick. That one sounded closer to the room. Following the gunshot, there were footsteps. Running. It didn't seem to be coming from the same place as the gunshot had. The running was much closer, the shot a bit more distant. Blaine took a deep breath. Whoever was out there, whether it was Sam or someone else, was safe, at least for now. It had been a while since Sam had left. He would have probably gotten to the bathroom by now, so he was out of the hall as long as he didn't try coming back to the choir room. 

A few minutes later, the sound of footsteps could be heard outside. It sounded like two people who seemed to be on the opposite end of the hall. Eventually, the sound of two people walking down the hall turned into three people running. Then another shot was heard, followed by a scream. The running didn't stop, and now sounded faster. Then it stopped, but there were no more shots following. Someone walked past the choir room slowly, then pulled on the door. Everyone froze and turned their attention to the door. Mr. Schuester tried to get a look outside without letting himself be seen, but couldn't get a glimpse of who was out there. It wasn't long before the person left, continuing their walk down the hall. 

Not long after the footsteps stopped, someone could be heard running down the hall. They stopped outside the room and knocked on the door, frantically but quietly. Mr. Schuester looked out the door, then opened it a bit when he saw a familiar face outside, closing it immediately after letting the person in. Brittany ran into the room alone, then sat beside Blaine and held onto his arm, crying into his shirt. 

"Hey, it's okay," Mr. Schuester said, kneeling beside her. "You're safe now." She shook her head. "Can I ask you something?" She looked up at him and nodded. "Did you see Sam? He said he was going to get you, do you know where he is?" She didn't say anything. She only buried her face in Blaine's shoulder and cried harder.

Mr. Schuester opened the door just enough to see outside and looked around. He looked to the right first. Nothing there. Then he looked to the left. He quickly slammed the door and leaned against it. He stood for a moment, silently staring straight ahead, eyes wide. The color had drained from his face. Everyone was watching him, waiting for him to do something and in the meantime, trying to read his expression. Shock? Fear? Sadness? A combination? Then he covered his face with his hands and cried. 

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Ryder spoke up. "Mr. Schue, he's not...?" He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone knew what he was going to say. It was what everyone was wondering: Was Sam dead?

Mr. Schuester took a deep breath and lowered his hands, then nodded. Everyone fell completely silent. No more shuffling, sniffling, not even the sound of breath. The only sound was Brittany's soft sobs. Blaine rested his head on hers and started crying as well. Artie, who had been beside Blaine, managed to move himself closer, then hugged Blaine from beside. Everyone joined in on the awkward group hug, most of them crying but some still silent, either because they were too scared to cry or the reality of the situation hadn't set it yet. 

Even after the SWAT team told them it was safe, nobody left the room. They stayed in their group hug, not wanting to be apart from each other and still not ready to step into the hallway. Some of them didn't think they'd ever be ready. 

A few minutes later, Tina ran in. Clearly nobody had broken the news to her, because although she still had tears streaming down her face, her fear and sadness seemed to be replaced with relief. "I'm so happy to see all of you." She sat beside Brittany and joined the hug. "Why aren't you guys saying anything? What's going on?" She let go of Brittany and stood up. Nobody said a word, but they all stopped hugging so Tina could get a better look at the group. Nobody wanted to be the one to say what had happened. She looked at everyone, still waiting for an answer. Then she finally realized. "Where's Sam? He was in here when this started, right?" She paused. "Oh god, don't tell me he was the one who..."

"Got shot?" Ryder asked. "Yeah."

Tina took a shaky breath as more tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh my god, I think I'm gonna be sick..." She backed up until her back was against the wall. "How? I thought he was... Wasn't he here? With you?"

"He was, until he left to save Brittany," Ryder said. Brittany cried harder and squeezed Blaine tight. A bit too tight, but he didn't say anything.

"And nobody stopped him?" Tina asked.

"We tried," Mr. Schuester replied. 

"Well, clearly not hard enough!"

"Tina, stop. We did what we could."

"I don't believe it," Marley said. "I mean, are we sure he's actually... Just wait, in a few minutes, he'll come through the door and everything will be okay..." Of course, she knew this was real, but she couldn't bring herself to accept it. 

"No. I wish, but..." Unique said, shaking her head. 

"I saw him, Marley," Mr. Schuester said. "And I wish I didn't.." He was afraid to close his eyes, knowing he'd never get the image out of his head. 

"Why? Why us?" Ryder asked. He stood up. "We didn't deserve this!" He kicked a chair. "And why Sam? Why not-"

"Ryder, enough," Beiste said. "You need to calm down. Nobody deserves this."

"But he's right about one thing," Brittany said, slowly sitting up straight. "Why sam? Why not me?"

"No, Brittany..."

"Yes. Why not me? He did it to save me, right? So-"

"Brittany. No. It shouldn't have been anyone. It shouldn't have happened at all. How anyone could think to do something like this..."

Blaine took a deep breath and slowly stood up. "We can't fix any of this. We can't change what happened. But we can change how we look at it. Obviously it's hard to find anything good here, if not impossible, but we can start by appreciate what we have left. Not only our own lives, but each other."

"Blaine has a point," Artie said. "I mean, Sam wouldn't want us blaming ourselves or each other, or wishing this upon anyone."

"Yeah. I hate to admit it, but I'm happy the rest of us are still together," Kitty said. 

Marley smiled a bit and nodded. "Together forever."

Nothing was the same after that day. 

Blaine lasted two days before transferring back to Dalton. He couldn't walk through the halls of McKinley without crying. He always had a weird feeling that he couldn't explain as well. He wasn't worried about the shoote coming back, but he couldn't move past what happened, and he never got over losing Sam. 

Brittany barely moved on, only being able to because of Lady Tubbington, a cat that was found when Sam's locker was being cleaned out. Although she loved the cat, she reminded her of how she had been giving far too much attention to Lord Tubbington and not nearly enough to Sam, something she'd always regret. 

If wasn't long before Sam's locker was covered in pictures, cards, and flowers, proof that Sam was loved by everyone and making all of this even more confusing. Who could want to hurt Sam? The only person that could answer that was Brittany. She knew that nobody could, this only happened because he stepped in front of her. He was a hero and she wished everyone else knew it, but she didn't want to tell anyone the truth. She worried about how they'd react. Would they blame her as much as she blamed herself?

William McKinley high school was forever changed after that day, and so was every student and staff member. Yes, they started to value themselves and their loved ones more, but nobody ever truly recovered from what had been lost.


End file.
